Does Ozempic help psoriasis? What a 74,000-patient study found

The short answer

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are not a treatment for psoriasis or hidradenitis suppurativa. But in a large 2025 study, people with type 2 diabetes who took a GLP-1 were markedly less likely to later be diagnosed with either skin condition, and the link held even after accounting for weight loss. These are early findings, not proof.

If you live with psoriasis or hidradenitis suppurativa and you take a GLP-1 medication for diabetes or weight, you have probably wondered whether the drug does anything for your skin. A retrospective cohort study published in JAAD International in 2025 looked at exactly that, in nearly 75,000 patients. The results are intriguing, and they come with real caveats.

What did the study find?

Researchers used the All of Us Database, a large national health-record set, and identified 74,910 adults with type 2 diabetes. Among them, 1,601 had psoriasis and 601 had hidradenitis suppurativa. They compared people who had taken a GLP-1 drug against those who had not, then adjusted for the factors that usually muddy this kind of comparison.

The gap was large. People on a GLP-1 were 59% less likely to have a future psoriasis diagnosis (odds ratio 0.41, 95% confidence interval 0.35 to 0.48). For hidradenitis suppurativa, they were 39% less likely (odds ratio 0.61, 95% confidence interval 0.48 to 0.76). Both results were statistically strong after adjustment.

An "odds ratio" is just a way of comparing the chance of something happening in two groups, and a value below 1 means the event happened less often in the GLP-1 group. The drugs studied were semaglutide, liraglutide, dulaglutide, exenatide, lixisenatide and albiglutide. Tirzepatide, the drug in Mounjaro and Zepbound, was not included.

Skin condition	Before adjustment	After adjustment
Psoriasis	Odds ratio 0.53	Odds ratio 0.41 (significant)
Hidradenitis suppurativa	Odds ratio 0.95 (not significant)	Odds ratio 0.61 (significant)

What are psoriasis and hidradenitis suppurativa?

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease in which the immune system speeds up skin-cell growth, producing raised, scaly, often itchy plaques. It is not contagious, and it is driven by inflammation inside the body, not by poor hygiene.

Hidradenitis suppurativa, often shortened to HS, is a painful long-term condition that causes recurring lumps and abscesses in skin folds such as the armpits and groin. Both conditions are more common in people with obesity, and both are tied to the same kind of body-wide, low-grade inflammation that drives type 2 diabetes.

That shared inflammatory background is why researchers suspected a GLP-1 drug might help. If these medications calm inflammation, the thinking goes, they might calm the skin too.

Why the weight-independent part matters

Here is the finding that makes this study more than a footnote. The lower rates of psoriasis and HS held up after the researchers adjusted for weight, body mass index, blood-sugar control (measured by HbA1c), smoking, income and other diabetes medications. In plain terms, the benefit did not simply come from losing weight.

That points to a possible direct anti-inflammatory effect. The authors suggest GLP-1 drugs may raise anti-inflammatory signals such as interleukin-10, block a pathway called NF-kB, and lower inflammatory messengers such as TNF-alpha, interleukin-6 and interleukin-1B. Several of those are the same targets that modern psoriasis and HS biologic drugs aim at. Researchers are still investigating whether this effect is real and large enough to matter in the clinic.

What this study cannot tell you

This is where honesty matters more than hype. The study is a retrospective cohort, which means it looks back at records and finds associations. It cannot prove that the GLP-1 drug caused the lower skin-disease rates. Something else about the people who get prescribed these drugs could explain part of the gap.

A few specific limits are worth knowing:

• The hidradenitis suppurativa link was not statistically significant before adjustment (odds ratio 0.95). It reached significance only after the researchers controlled for other factors, so it rests on a less certain footing than the psoriasis result.
• The database held no information on disease severity, so the study cannot say whether GLP-1 users had milder skin disease, fewer flares, or simply fewer diagnoses.
• The way patients were selected skewed the group older, which the authors flag as a possible source of bias.
• Tirzepatide was not studied at all, so none of this applies to Mounjaro or Zepbound.

The authors are direct about the bottom line: these drugs are not approved for psoriasis or HS, and the right next step is prospective trials that test them head on. No one should start or switch a GLP-1 drug to treat a skin condition based on this study.

What this means if you take a GLP-1

So what do you do with this if you are on a GLP-1 and you have psoriasis or HS? Treat it as encouraging background, not a reason to change your treatment. Keep taking the therapy your dermatologist prescribed, because a GLP-1 is not a substitute for a psoriasis or HS medication.

There is a practical angle that is squarely in your control: your nutrition. Both psoriasis and HS are inflammatory conditions, and nutrient status plays a supporting role in skin and immune health. Low vitamin D is common in people with psoriasis, and omega-3 fats and zinc both matter for the skin. At the same time, GLP-1 side effects like nausea and a sharp drop in appetite mean many users eat far less and risk nutrient gaps.

Research has found that nutrient deficiency on GLP-1 is common, affecting roughly 1 in 5 adults, with vitamin D among the most frequent gaps. Supplements do not treat psoriasis or HS, but correcting a real deficiency supports your skin and general health while the drug does its main job. Protecting your nutrition is the exact problem GLP-1 Shield is built around.

For the bigger picture of what these drugs do to your body, our overview of GLP-1 side effects is a good next read, along with our monitoring guide for vitamins on GLP-1. If you are mainly worried about facial changes, our piece on Ozempic face covers the other way these drugs affect your skin.

Key takeaways

• In a 74,910-patient study, GLP-1 users were 59% less likely to be diagnosed with psoriasis and 39% less likely with hidradenitis suppurativa.
• The lower rates held after adjusting for weight, BMI, blood sugar and smoking, which points to a possible direct anti-inflammatory effect.
• This was an observational study, so it shows an association, not proof that GLP-1 drugs treat or prevent these skin conditions.
• The findings do not apply to tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), which was not studied.
• GLP-1 drugs are not a skin treatment, so keep taking your prescribed psoriasis or HS therapy and protect your nutrition.

Frequently asked questions

Can Ozempic help psoriasis?

Possibly, but it is not proven. In a 2025 JAAD International study of 74,910 diabetes patients, those on a GLP-1 drug like Ozempic were 59% less likely to be diagnosed with psoriasis, even after adjusting for weight. This is an observational finding, not proof, and GLP-1 drugs are not approved to treat psoriasis.

Do GLP-1 drugs help hidradenitis suppurativa?

The same 2025 study found GLP-1 users were 39% less likely to be diagnosed with hidradenitis suppurativa after adjustment. The link was weaker than for psoriasis and was not significant before adjustment. Early findings suggest a possible anti-inflammatory effect, but prospective trials are needed before GLP-1 drugs could be considered a treatment.

Does Ozempic cause or worsen psoriasis?

Current evidence does not suggest GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic worsen psoriasis. If anything, the 2025 JAAD International cohort linked them to fewer psoriasis diagnoses. If your skin changes after starting a GLP-1, tell your dermatologist, since many factors affect psoriasis and this research is still early.

Should I take a GLP-1 to treat my skin condition?

No. GLP-1 drugs are not approved to treat psoriasis or hidradenitis suppurativa, and the evidence so far is observational. Keep taking the therapy your dermatologist prescribed. If you are on a GLP-1 for diabetes or weight, any skin benefit is a possible bonus, not a reason to change your treatment plan.